M'Baku (Earth-11584)
History "You are the first king to come here in 500 years. And now you wish to talk about our nation; our people. Do not speak to me in this manner!" '''M'Baku '''is the tribal leader of the Jabari, a breakaway sect of Wakandans who maintain their own territory within the country and are granted a degree of self-rule outside of the leadership of the King of Wakanda. M'Baku assumed the mantle of leadership sometime during the reign of T'Chaka, having proven himself the most powerful warrior upon the death of the previous Jabari leader (unlike the throne of Wakanda, the mantle of "Great Gorilla" is not passed down hereditarily). It is unknown how long M'Baku held this post prior to the ascension ceremony of T'Challa. Though the relations between the Jabari and the rest of Wakanda were strained in the best of times, M'Baku in particular disdained the current generation of the royal family, regarding T'Challa as a weakling and despising his sister Shuri's scoffing at Wakandan traditions in favor of Western ones. In response to this, M'Baku took the step of crashing the ascension ceremony of T'Challa, challenging the young prince in ritual combat for the right to rule. Though he was not under any obligation to do so, T'Challa accepted M'Baku's challenge. The leader of the Jabari nearly defeated T'Challa, who was depowered for the duration, but T'Challa eventually got him in a choke hole near the edge of the waterfall. With death approaching, M'Baku was resigned to his fate, but T'Challa convinced him to yield the challenge, essentially sparing his life and allowing him to retain leadership of the Jabari. Some time later, T'Challa's lifeless body was found near the border of Jabariland by fishermen, who brought him to M'Baku. As payment for sparing his life, M'Baku placed T'Challa in the snow to stabilize his life signs and keep him from dying. When Nakia, Shuri, and the rest of the Wakandan outcasts came to him, offering him the chance to become king and the Heart-Shaped Herb, M'Baku led them to T'Challa's prone form (although he first showed some pleasure at them pleading for his help) and watched as they revived him with the Herb. The following morning, T'Challa and M'Baku had a conversation, with the former asking M'Baku for his army's help at regaining the throne. M'Baku was initially against such a move, but after hearing T'Challa say he would no longer follow the ways of his father, he agreed with the caveat that, if victorious, the Jabari would be given a seat on the Ruling Council of Wakanda. M'Baku led the Jabari into battle at the Vibranium Mound, taking on the Border Tribe who had aligned with N'Jadaka, and turning the tide against them. Later, he was seen in the throne room of the victorious T'Challa, having been given his seat on the council, and relations between the Jabari and Wakandans now appear to be the best they have been since the nation's founding. Powers & Abilities * Superior Strength: While lacking the superhuman strength of the Black Panthers, M'Baku was stronger than average humans by a significant amount, as he was able to outwrestle a depowered T'Challa in ritual combat, only defeated by the quicker thinking wits of the Black Panther. * Jabari Army: As the leader of the Jabari tribe, M'Baku commanded a loyal force of hundreds at his beck and call, proving invaluable in the Battle of the Vibranium Mount. Weaknesses M'Baku relies on his brute strength to win battles; as such he is not skilled in overt battle tactics and can be easily outwitted by a skilled opponent, such as T'Challa. Also despite being Wakandan, M'Baku and the rest of the Jabari tend to not use the advanced Wakandan weaponry, preferring more traditional forms of combat and lifestyles. This makes them easy targets to more technologically advanced foes. Film Details M'Baku appears in the following films within the Earth-11584 continuity. In all cases he is portrayed by actor Winston Duke. * Black Panther (2018) Category:Earth-11584 Category:Earth-11584 Characters Category:Good Characters